Neighbor's fallen tree a $2,800 headache

My vehicle is a total loss (about $13,000), and to add insult to injury, I am told that in New Jersey, my neighbor is not responsible to have the tree removed. It is my responsibility!

My homeowner's insurance will not cover it, because the tree did not hit the house. My auto insurance (same company as my homeowner's insurance) will only pay to cut the tree off of the car, but not to remove it. I had to pay $1,500 to have the tree removed.

It is now more than two weeks without my SUV, and my wife and I have to share rides or I have to take her to work and pick her up after work.

I have a $500 deductible on my car insurance and then will have to pay the state tax on my replacement vehicle. Through no fault of my own, I will be out about $2,800 out of pocket.

But my neighbors, whose tree it was, do not lose a dime. This simply does not sound fair or reasonable. Something needs to be done about this law.

Ron Biederstadt

Beachwood

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Neighbor's fallen tree a $2,800 headache

During superstorm Sandy my neighbor's tree, a 40-foot pine, fell on my SUV and totaled it. My vehicle is a total loss (about $13,000), and to add insult to injury, I am told that in New Jersey, my

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